LOOKING FORWARD, LOOKING BACK What was the most surprising development in your field this year? What was the least surprising? Gov. Tina Kotek Least surprising is that Oregonians care about each other and want the same things, such as making sure everyone has a roof over their head that they can afford. I’m energized by the “can do” attitudes of so many people across our state. Melanie Kebler Mayor of Bend Housing remains the No. 1 concern for people in Bend. This is not surprising given that housing is a basic human need, and for so many decades here in Oregon, we have not built enough homes to keep up with growth and demand. I’ll continue to work to reverse that trend so housing is more attainable and affordable to everyone living in Bend. Luckily, we have a governor and state Legislature that continue to take bold action on housing as well. Rep. Jeff Helfrich R-Hood River, House Minority Leader The failure of Measure 110 is easily the least surprising to me. We see the tragic consequences of this horrendous policy every day. It has ruined our state and set a generation of people down the pathway of addiction and despair. House Republicans have offered solutions to the addiction, crime and homeless crises that plague our state — and fixing them will be our top priority. Curtis Robinhold Executive director, Port of Portland I spent two volunteer shifts over the Thanksgiving holiday doing customer service in the PDX ticket lobby. My job was to answer questions and help people get where they needed to be. It’s a nice way for me to see our business up close — and see how hard it is. Every year that I do this, I am reminded of how great the PDX people are. They’re so helpful and caring, and seeing them get through even the hardest challenges is not surprising in any way. Sen. Ron Wyden D-OR I am endlessly surprised when some people run for office who denigrate public service and who actually have no interest in it. Sadly, America has experienced the fallout from that dynamic with farright House Republicans in effect “catching the car” — achieving their supposed goal of a majority in the House yet completely lacking the ability or interest to help in governing our country. Angela Wilhelms President & CEO, Oregon Business & Industry OBI released an Ernst & Young report showing that Oregon’s effective business tax rate had gone up a whopping 45% between 2019 and 2021. On top of that, Portland has the second highest personal income tax rate in the country … less than 0.2% behind New York City (where you have to make $25 million per year to pay that rate compared to $125,000 in Portland). We knew the rates had gone up, but it was shocking to see the final calculations. We’ll commission an update in 2024 to capture data through 2023. Josh Lehner Economist, Oregon Office of Economic Analysis That this initial descent from the inflationary economic boom to the soft landing has gone as well as expected. As businesses have staffed back up, job openings are declining. Overall inflationary and wage pressures are slowing down. The economy is not out of the woods yet and recession risks remain. However, so far, so good. Typically, inflationary economic booms do not end well. So this year’s economic experience is a welcomed outlier. Angela Wilhelms JASON E. KAPLAN GAGE SKIDMORE (CC BY-SA 3.0) Rep. Jeff Helfrich 35
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==